Privacy

The Cost of Lost Privacy: How Google and Datamining Drive Economic Inequality in Our Nation

July 15, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Why has economic inequality increased so radically in the United States over the last generation?</p> <p> General explanations range from globalization to the decline in trade unions to rising returns to education -- and therefore the loss of income to the less educated. These all no doubt play a role but in an age of information, what is unquestionably true is that control of that information is extremely unequal - and that inequality drives broader economic inequality in our economy.</p>

Phony Autism Settlement Hides the Real Issues

July 15, 2011  ·  Jerry Flanagan

<p> <img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2148" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/katemovius.jpg" style="width: 120px; height: 110px; float: right;" width="1200" height="1099" /></p> <p> What's worse than an insurance company that denies a child access to medically necessary treatments for autism?  A complicit regulator that's too cozy with the very insurers that they are charged to oversee.</p>

Study: Ad Networks Not Honoring Do-Not-Track Promises

July 14, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <b>Some ad networks are not living up to promises to stop tracking Web users after an opt out request, a study says.</b></p> <p> Some online advertising networks continue to track Web users after tracking opt-out requests, even though the networks have promised to honor those questions, according to a new study from Stanford University's Center for Internet Society.</p>

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt to Testify Before Congress on Wi-Spy Scandal

July 11, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> With the company's Google+ service still in is infant stages, Google's Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt is set to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee this September over the Wi-Spy scandal.</p>

Facebook Dev Rules Tweaked After US Antitrust Complaint

July 8, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <strong>Real Beef Over Virtual Goods</strong></p> <p> Facebook has updated its developer terms of service following an antitrust complaint to the Federal Trade Commission.</p> <div id="body"> <p> The company now lets Facebook-game developers charge a lower price for virtual goods when their game runs on other platforms, such as MySpace, Yahoo!, or another website. Previously, Facebook's terms of service required that the same prices be charged on competing platforms.</p>

Google And The White House Too Chummy While Firm Under Investigation, Consumer Group Says

July 8, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<div class="postimageleft"> <img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="http://www.sfgate.com/blogs/images/sfgate/nov05election/2007/08/29/SpinCycleBlog200x200.JPG" width="200" /></div> <p>

Grave Mistakes Costing Consumers Money And Time; Government Lists Living Americans As Dead

July 7, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <img class=" size-full wp-image-9274" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/wews-grave-map.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 329px;" width="1031" height="1132" /><a href="http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/money/consumer/consumer_specialist/grave-mistakes-costing-consumers-money-and-time-government-lists-living-americans-as-dead">Click here to watch news video clip on this story</a>.</p> <p> CLEVELAND - It doesn't take much searching to find full social security numbers of people who have died. But a Scripps Howard News Service investigation found some of these dead people are actually alive.</p>

Facebook Gives In To Consumer Watchdog Over Credits … Sort Of

July 6, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <img align="right" alt="Facebook Credits" border="0" height="287" hspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/blog.games.com/media/2011/07/facebook-credits-300x287.jpg" vspace="4" width="300" /></p>

Consumer Watchdog Claims Facebook Changed Policy After FTC Complaint

July 6, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Consumer Watchdog is claiming victory, at least to some extent, in its push to have the Federal Trade Commission investigate Facebook's virtual money programs.</p> <p> According to Consumer Watchdog, Facebook changed its terms for game developers to use its virtual money after the advocacy group asked the FTC on June 28 to look into the policies.</p> <p> But Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said the policy update was "long planned" for July 1.</p>

Stem Cell Agency’s Top Salaries Stand Out On State Roster

July 5, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <b>As other agencies scale back, the top two officials at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine have combined salaries of nearly $1 million a year.</b></p>

U.S. Lawmakers Frustrated By Lack Of Answers About Google Street View Wi-spying

July 5, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <strong>Google faces wiretap charges in class-action suit</strong></p> <p> Perhaps you’ve seen them trundling past your house — those ruby-red Google Street View compact cars, with a tripod camera mounted on the roof. They have cruised through almost every major town in the developed world, photographing each house and posting the pictures on Google Maps.</p>

Facebook Works To Make Friends At California’s Capitol

July 5, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <img class=" size-full wp-image-9267" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/fblobbying.gif" style="width: 370px; height: 300px;" width="700" height="622" />Facebook has emerged as a political player in the state Capitol – and not just because lawmakers are using the site to make "friends."</p> <p> The Palo Alto-based company that revolutionized online communication has quietly begun shaping public policy in California. Facebook scored a major victory last month, when it persuaded legislators to shoot down a bill that would have made more user information private on social networking websites.</p>